


Avoidance

by binarylightyear



Category: Fallout 4
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-09
Updated: 2016-01-25
Packaged: 2018-05-12 18:11:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5675650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/binarylightyear/pseuds/binarylightyear
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>While being the Sole Survivor of Vault 111, Mei is doing her best to not think about it.  She's been going about trying to blend in with the Commonwealth and trying to wrap her head around everything that's happened to her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

‘It kinda looks like you’re out of business.’  
‘No way. You think I’m gonna let some shitheads like them dictate my business?’ He made a very offended noise, looking her over as he pulled out a cigarette and lit it. ‘What about you, huh? How do I know you’re not gonna shove that sword of yours in my back? Or a bullet?’  
‘That’s part of the fun,’ she said with a light smirk. He stared at her, and it had to be half a minute before he replied.  
‘Yeah, I guess it is. Tell you what, if you’re actually looking for an extra gun, I’m your man. Two hundred fifty caps, up front. Non-negotiable.’  
‘Everything’s negotiable. Two hundred.’ It was more of a statement than anything else. He shook his head with a smile.  
‘All right, all right. You got yourself a deal. What’s your name, anyway?’  
‘Mei.’ She stepped over to sit down on the couch behind him. He joined her, tapping out ashes in the ashtray. She pulled out her own cigarette, and they sat for a few moments in silence.  
‘So… what are we gonna be doing?’ He wondered finally, foot to his knee and hand on that boot. Toes tapping to the sound of the music from the front of the bar.  
She glanced at him. Newsboy cap to her knee so she could run a hand through her hair. It was disgusting. She was still considering cutting it all off, but for now she just brushed her drab brown hair out of her face. Mei looked at him now. ‘Mostly I’ve been scavenging. Helping out little settlements or farms I run across, and that kind of thing. It’ll be nice to have someone watching my back besides Dog.’  
At the mention of his name Dog, who was sitting by the door after having sniffed around the room, perked up his ears and looked at her.  
‘I thought he might be yours,’ MacCready said, and all she did was tilt her head. Dog was over and between them, getting many pats and scratches from the man. His tail wagged like crazy. ‘I swear, I think my friend from the Capital Wasteland had a dog just like him. Ah man, what was his name?’  
‘The Capital Wasteland?’  
‘Yeah… old Capital.’ He glanced at her, an eyebrow raised and cigarette hanging out of his mouth. ‘I lived there for most of my life. Just came here not too long ago.’  
It suddenly clicked. DC. He was talking about DC. ‘Oh, I’ve never been there. Just heard about it from time to time.’ Never, in the past few weeks. Before that? Plenty. She knew too much about DC.  
‘Yeah, that’s most people. Its okay; it’ll come to me. Won’t it, boy?’ Dog barked happily, and this elicited a laugh from MacCready. ‘Where did you find him?’  
‘He was at the Red Rocket I use as my scavenging base. Or home. Whichever you prefer. He’s pretty handy in a fight.’  
‘So you’re just an average scavver?’  
‘Average?’ Now it was her turn to make an offended noise. ‘Come off it. Nothing average about me. Gotta make a living somehow, right?’  
‘Do you ever… kill people for their goods?’  
‘Every damn day.’  
‘I like you, Mei. I’ll like you even more once you pay me.’  
She smirked, cigarette balanced in the ashtray and in her mouth alternatively as she counted out his caps on the table. He watched, Dog lying across his feet, and took out his caps bag and sat it there for her. She soon was dumping in his caps, and he picked up the bag by its strings, and it now shut itself. He shook it and gave the tiniest little moan.  
‘That… is a very welcome sound,’ he said as he tucked it away into a pouch at his belt. ‘You let me know when you’re ready to leave.’  
‘Actually, its been a tough day getting here. There a hotel or something in town?’  
‘Yeah. Yeah, actually. The Rexford. Not the best, but it beats the streets.’  
‘Great. I’m gonna go sleep. You coming too, or staying here?’ She stood, and she creaked a little. She pretended to not notice, or that it was the couch or something, adjusting her flannel and then looking at him. He was just staring at her. It was probably just a second, just a look, but it felt like an eternity.  
‘Of course. I could use a good night’s sleep,’ he answered finally. She checked the time on her pipboy. It was only eleven something, but it still felt like it was the middle of the night. When was the last time she had slept? She didn’t even know.  
Dog barked suddenly, and she looked down at him, then knelt down to pet him. He licked her with a little whine, and then he was gone, off to do whatever it was he did.  
‘Wait. Where is he going?’  
‘He’ll go home. He’s usually home before I am. I think he has a girlfriend—or whatever the dog equivalent to that is.’  
‘Oh,’ MacCready said, looking after him before following her up to outside. He led her from there around the corner and to the hotel. He had his rifle over his shoulder, and she took that time that he was in front of her to observe it in the dim light of the street. ‘Well, there it is. Just promise me we’ll leave in the morning.’  
‘Anxious to leave?’  
‘Goodneighbor is wearing out its welcome, as you saw.’  
‘We’ll leave tomorrow. I should wake up before noon.’  
‘I’ll wake you up if you try to sleep after noon.’  
She smirked, and soon they were standing in the room she had just rented for the night, both staring at the bed.  
‘You can have it. I’ll take the floor.’  
‘C’mon, Mac. I don’t want to hear you complaining tomorrow about how bad your bug bites or back hurt.’  
‘Yeah… yeah. Okay. It’s not like either of us take up much room. It’ll be fine.’  
Neither of them moved, though. It could have been the creaking from next door that was probably someone fucking, but who knows.  
‘Cigarette?’ She offered, and he agreed quickly. They both lit up one, and with that little icebreaker they were getting off their weapons in order to get ready for sleep. He shook out the blanket, and she slid a knife under the pillow. He checked and locked the door a few times, examining the hinges with a dissatisfied grunt. She blew out the candle, and then the room was only lit by their cigarettes and the lights from outside. It was tinged red by the Rexford’s sign. They sat at the edge of the bed, smoking down to the butts. She laid down first, curled up under the blanket, and he joined her a moment later. He was warm. She found herself scooting a little towards him. She might have been still in her flannel shirt, but she was without her jeans and boots.  
He made a disgusted noise. ‘There would only be one pillow. Hold on.’ He got out of the bed and she heard some rustling. He came back, plopping down something next to the pillow. ‘Tell me you have a bed for me at home.’  
‘Not yet. I’ll get one,’ she said. ‘What did you do?’  
‘Pants,’ he answered simply. He had definitely settled back down closer to her than before, but she wasn’t sure if that was on purpose or not. Did it matter, anyway? Why was she worrying about it, or that he was no longer wearing pants?  
‘You’re welcome to some of my pillow,’ she offered, turning from him to the wall, eyes closing. She was really, really tired. Vague instructions on how to get to the town wasn’t enough. If it hadn’t been for the signs, she never would have found it. She was running around, or rather, sneaking around, blind for most of the day. Killing raiders, Super Mutants…  
She let out a little sigh, and though she had to keep her mind from wandering from the here and now, she was soon asleep. Exhaustion does finally win out.  
When she woke up in the middle of the night, thirsty and sweating from nightmares, she found that he was sharing her pillow. She pondered this for a moment, then figured he had moved after she was asleep. Crafty bastard. She carefully got a deep drink of her water, then was back in her spot.   
She found it amazingly hard to go back to sleep. His breath was in her ear, and when she moved so it would stop bothering her, it woke him up. Slightly. Just enough to murmur, ‘its okay; you’re safe. I’m not gonna let anything get you,’ to put his arm over her and scoot closer. His breath was in her ear again, and she sighed. She didn’t really care, her cheeks red. She knew he thought she was someone else, probably, but it was good to hear anyway. It did help her fall back asleep.

When Mei woke up in the morning, he was still close against her. His arm wasn’t around her anymore, but they were both tucked up to his chest and her back. And he was snoring lightly. She let him sleep, carefully getting out of bed to go and visit the washroom, her pants not even buttoned. They had a shower, and while she questioned the cleanliness of it, she took a shower anyway. The soap helped with the smell, and she tucked one of the bars into the towel before going back to their room.  
He started awake as she opened the door, knife wielded to her. He stood there, half-naked, and she stood there, towel in her hair, and they both stared at each other.  
‘They have a shower,’ she blurted out finally. His arm lowered, free hand up to rub at his face.  
‘Sorry, boss. I don’t usually sleep well.’  
‘Its all right,’ she said, unable to help from glancing down. And then a second glance, because it was worth it. ‘You can go back to sleep, you know. I won’t leave without you.’  
He said ‘fuck’ under his breath, turning to find his pants. He just realized that he was without them. ‘Its fine. I’ll be happy to get out of here.’ He glanced up to see that she was still staring at him, and he offered her a little smile. ‘I know.’  
She went very red, and turned to continue to dry off her hair. She dropped the soap into her bag for use at home. He chuckled, but was continuing to get dressed. Soon, she was clipping back on her belt, and he stepped close to slide her knife back into its place. Slowly. The sheathe clicked to accept the blade and lock it in place, but he didn’t move. He was watching her reaction, and after a second she met his gaze. His blue eyes just stared into hers, and she felt her face getting hot again.  
‘We have the room for a little while more, right?’ He wondered, and she nodded with a little ‘yeah.’ Meek wasn’t usually her thing. His fingers came from the knife, to undo her belt in two quick moves. It dropped to the floor with a very loud clank. He popped the button to her jeans, and she removed them quickly, almost falling in the process. He caught her, pressing her to the wall. His jacket was off without her help, but his belt was off with her fingers, his pants undone quickly, and he dropped them again before his lips and teeth were under her ear, pressed close to her. A couple of seconds of heavy breathing, and then his hand was on her thigh, wrapping her leg around him, and he pressed within her with only a second of hesitation. She moaned into his ear, arms wrapped over his neck, and up onto her tiptoes. He bit at her neck again, hard, and kept there as he started moving, keeping her sandwiched tight between him and the wall. His other hand came to lift her up completely, having not trouble keeping her there as he fucked her hard against the wall. They weren’t quiet, but built up in noise, bouncing off of each other, until, finally, he came and stayed pressed up against her. His face was buried in her hair, breathing hard and heavy. Her hands came to brush back his hair, wet now with sweat, and her breath came hard as well. She wriggled against him, and he let out a low moan.  
His hand came between them, and his thumb dropped down to rub against her clit. It was soft at first, but her reaction was immediate. It was a moan into his ear, and a tug at his hair. He didn’t stop, but continued, gradually getting harder and faster, until her back arched and she let out a soft yell in pleasure. His hand retreated and came to her hip, but didn’t move away from her. Slowly, their breath returned to normal, and he licked at her tender neck before he pulled away slowly, setting her down to her feet. Her fingers were still wound in his hair, and she tugged until he looked at her.  
He pressed his forehead to hers and made a warm noise, clean hand up to run along her jawline softly. ‘Yeah?’  
‘Yeah,’ she confirmed, hands down to the back of his neck. Their eyes met for a few seconds, and he shifted forward, as if to kiss her, but he was back quickly. Pulling away from her to turn and pull up his pants. She reached for her own (with a wipe from the towel) and pulled them on, retrieving her belt and clipping it on. Again. She ran a hand through her hair and picked up her cap, fitting it over her hair with a clear of her throat. ‘So, I figured I would show you the long way home—with scavenging and shit along the way.’  
‘Sounds like my kind of day,’ he replied, his cap already on, an unlit cigarette between his lips, and lifting his gun to over his shoulder. ‘Cigarette, some food on the road, getting to watch your back… yeah.’  
‘Yeah,’ she agreed, taking his cigarette from him and lighting it for herself. He laughed softly after looking offended, but took out another cigarette and lit it up. They stood there for a moment, smoking and looking each other over. Then she led the way out.  
It was slow picking over Boston, but she went North and then out West. Once they made it out into the Wasteland proper, things were better. In the city it was a lot of sneaking and MacCready insisting that he could pick off enemies from long range (which he did) and then them running and shooting as their buddies came after them once they figured out what was going on. By the time they reached open ground, it was starting to get dark, so they continued on until they found an abandoned cabin. He went in and checked to make sure they were alone, and then called her in. She came in with a lantern and lit it by the light of her pip.  
‘No mattresses,’ he grunted, disappointed.  
‘Can’t be the first time,’ she replied, poking the couch with her foot. He watched her as he lit his cigarette.  
‘Nope. Was just hopeful, you know?’  
‘Yeah,’ she replied, sitting down and tugging off her boots. He came and sat down beside her, boots beside hers. She looked to him with a smile, and he smiled back.  
‘So, what happened this morning.’  
‘I’m all right with it if you are,’ she said after a few seconds.  
‘I definitely am,’ he agreed, watching her in the dim light as she lit her own cigarette. ‘That doesn’t happen when someone hires me, just to clarify.’  
She laughed lightly, looking back over at him. ‘Just this once?’  
‘Just this once. I am also usually hired by old men.’ She smirked, and he shifted closer to her, arm over her shoulders. She leaned into him, and they were quiet for a moment. Smoking.  
‘I’m also glad we can keep things professional when needed.’  
‘Of course. When needed.’ He shifted against her, and then tipped up his hat slightly. She was quiet, and then he was quiet, but it was uncomfortable for him. ‘So, what’s your story, hmm? Where’d you grow up?’  
‘Are you really prying?’  
‘I’m curious. Humor me with something.’  
‘I grew up in the city.’  
‘Boston?’  
‘That’s the one.’  
‘On your own?’  
‘Nope. I had my parents. Never had to worry about much.’  
‘So how did you end up relying on scavenging?’  
She got up quickly, taking a last drag of her cigarette before flicking it out of the door.  
‘Shit, I’m sorry.’  
‘Its fine.’  
‘Clearly it isn’t,’ he said, getting up as well. He stood beside her and flicked his cigarette butt next to hers. They watched the cherries burn out in silence. ‘Well, I don’t remember mine. I remember picking up a rifle and living with a bunch of other kids learning to survive.’ She looked over at him, and then took his hat. Hers was off, and she pressed his to over her hair. He looked at her, and she looked back, their eyes narrowed at each other. Then he started laughing. He snatched her hat and put it on, setting on one of her signature scowls, which had to be hard to do while he was still laughing.  
She leaned up to kiss him warmly, and it seemed to catch him by surprise. His hand came to her cheek, but he returned it after a few seconds. ‘I thought it was the hat that made you irresistible.’  
Mei laughed softly, but then they were kissing again, and she pressed closer to him. ‘I think you turned out all right, despite your childhood,’ she murmured.  
‘You barely know me,’ he said.


	2. Deacon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A drabble I wrote with Mei and Deacon (and them being all cute and stuff).

Mei sat with Dog, scratching between his ears. They were in the middle of nowhere, just having camped after a long day of scavenging.

Behind her, Deacon was looking through all of the random things the abandoned building had stowed in it. ‘You know, some of this stuff is pretty good. Books, old electronics, even some rounds. Worth a decent amount.’

It took her a moment to respond. ‘Yeah. We should go through it before heading home.’

He came and sat beside her, an old tattered book still in his hands. ‘Mei, come on babe, smell this.’ He stuck it under her nose, and both her and Dog looked at him. ‘Smell it.’

She sniffed half-heartedly. ‘It smells like death.’

‘God, you’re depressing.’ The book dropped onto her lap, and she looked down at it. It was so worn that she couldn’t even read the cover.

‘What book is it, anyway?’

‘Don’t know. Why don’t you open it?’

She glared at him, but did. The pages were half burnt, brown, crumbling in places. She had to hold it away from her in order to almost see it clearly. He slowly came so he could look over her shoulder, sunglasses tilted down his nose with a finger. ‘Huh. Looks like an old romance novel. Apparently these things were popular.’

‘Hey, what did we say about lying,’ he said immediately. For all of his lies and deception, he had seen right through her deep-seated lies. He knew she has lied to everyone else about who she was, where she had come from, what she had gone through. His chin came onto her shoulder. ‘All right, tell me. You read these, didn’t you?’

Her cheeks started to get hot.

‘I knew it. Are these things as dirty as I think they are? Are they descriptive? Read me a few lines.’

‘What? Deacon, no.’

‘Come onnnn. I read you some War and Peace. Read me some dirty stories.’ Her cheeks got hotter, and she closed the book quickly. He snatched it from her, holding it out with one hand to a random page, other arm around her so she couldn’t move or take it from him. ‘He moved closer to her, fingers–’

‘Deacon.’

His voice just got louder. ‘–and they fell into the leaves next to the cottage, hands exploring each other–’

She said his name again, exasperated, trying to wriggle out of his grip. He was surprisingly strong when determined to humiliate her. He devolved into chuckles after a few more seconds of reading, letting book drop back onto her lap. ‘I hate you.’

‘No you don’t,’ he responded immediately. ‘Unless by ‘hate’ you really mean ‘love more than life itself.’’

She snorted, arms crossed. ‘Yeah, you wish.’ Her smile was almost there.

‘I can read some more to you, if you want. I bet it gets pretty spicy there in that pile of leaves– you ever get dirty in leaves? I bet you did. One experience I’ll never have.’

‘It’s not all its cracked up to be,’ she said quietly, grinning, and he stared at her. His hands pressed her away slightly, still staring at her. She glanced at him.

‘Life pre-war sounds exciting.’

‘Deac, if it was exciting, we wouldn’t need naughty books to get us through the day,’ she said, picking up the book and hitting him softly on his bald head with it.

‘You wouldn’t go back?’

‘And miss you, and Mac, and Dog? Not for all the naughty books in the world.’


End file.
